BHUTAN

Last year you might have read articles online or seen the news on Bhutan's new queen....because she is just drop dead gorgeous. Some claim that she is even the "world's most beautiful", I surely wouldn't argue that.

For those of you unaware of this beautiful south Asia, it is a state that is surrounded by China and the Republic of India (to the east and west). The capital of Bhutan is Thimphu. The country is run by a parliamentary system, therefore, ruled by kings and queens. The current king is Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck...the last name cracks me up (I am mature, I swear) and his beautiful queen is Jetsun Pema. 

In Bhutan, the people speak a language called Dzongkha and there are about 740,000 people living in this beautiful country. 

If you are visiting the capital of Bhutan, there are several popular tourist sights: 

1. Paro Taktsang

2. Tashichho Dzong

3. Rinpung Dzong

4. Drukgyal Dzong

5. Mongar Gewog

6. Dechen Phodrang Monastery

7. Discover textiles at the Textile Museum

8. Head to Memorial Chorten- built in 1974 in memory of Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (the third king).

9. Go see the national animal, Takin. 

10. Make your way up Kuensel Phodrang to see the massive bronze Buddha (called the Dordenma)

11. Get stoned with a hot stone bath at the Jiva Spa. 

12. Spend some ngultrums (the local currency) at Norzin Lam, also known as the main shopping district. 

13. Attempt to find a cupid at an archery tournament (each weekend) at the Changlimithang Archery Ground. 

14. Take a day at the Folk Heritage Museum.

 15. Send some love via a letter with an awesome postcard...you can even have one with your face on it!

16. Fill your suitcases with one of a kind souvenirs: scroll paintings called Thangkas, masks, prayer wheels, Buddha figures, Mandala paintings, yak hair bags and kiras of various colors. 

17. Drink a glass of ara (the local beer), salty Suja and butter tea...not sure about the butter tea...

If you are traveling to the more central area of Bhutan, to Jakar-where the Buddha entered Bhutan-, be sure to check out: 

1. Visit the Wangdichholing Palace.

2. Swig on some Red Panda beer at the Swiss Farm. 

3. Grab a slice of Asian pizza at Himalayan Pizza.

4. Take a gander around the Jakar Dzong. 

5. Take a stroll or hike, if you like, in the Bumthang Valley...go do it, you bum thang. 

6. Check out the Lamey Goemba or Namkhe Nyingpo Goemba monasteries. 

7. Pick up a few souvenirs at the Handicraft Emporium, Bumthang Handicraft Shop and the Yoser Lam Shop. 

8. Grab lunch or dinner at a Sunny Restaurant...or the 7-Eleven...

For you international flights in Bhutan, you will land in Paro, which is to the west of Thimphu. If you are staying in Paro, which is another major city/town of Bhutan, be sure to: 

1. Stay until Sunday for the famous Paro Sunday Market.

2. Attend the Land of Thunder Dragon- Jambay Lakhang Festival. 

3. Spend a day at the National Museum or the Vajrayana Art Gallery. 

4. Party with fellow Bhutanese peoples in Club K or Millenium Club...this could be interesting. 

5. Grab a bite and bond with fellow travellers at the Travellers Restaurant or the Chharo Restaurant. 

6. Rent a bike and explore Paro, Bhutan. 

7. Explore the various temples: Druk Choeding or Dumtse Lhakhang.

8. Indulge in goodies at Jachung Milk Bakery. 

9. Visit yet another Dzong; the Paro Dzong. 

10. Be a king or queen in the Ugyen Pelri Thang palace. 

11. Free porn on the building...there are actually male parts painted on a building there, pretty graphic too. It must be interesting to randomly come across that if you were not previously aware of it before.

For people traveling to Bhutan, keep in mind that this is a very rural country so you won't get the whole sky-high buildings, fast cars, crazy nightlife and a super jam schedule of museums/statues/etc. Again, it's a more rural country so there is a lot of history in the tourist spots here and very relaxed, easy-going place. If you are looking for a super busy, crazy vacation, Bhutan might not be the best choice for you. 

After researching Bhutan, I would definitely want to visit. It may not be on the top of my list, but it is most definitely on the list. One day soon, I hope to say that I have visited Bhutan and experienced a day in the life of these peoples, have drank a Red Panda and seen many different 'Dzongs'. 

The next post will be on Kazakhstan...there are so many Kazakhs at my university, looks and sounds like cool place!

I am so excited because when I come back from work tonight, my best friend/room-mate will finally be home so I won't be all alone and BORED anymore! Exciting stuff. I won't be posting until Wednesday afternoon because my next few days will be spent visiting my bubbi in Moravia...where there is no internet access (at her house). Look for coming post on Wednesday morning/afternoon.

Travel on wanderlusters!

NEW ZEALAND

That teeny tiny little island off the coast of Australia, in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand is composed of several islands: two larger islands- a North Island and South Island- and several smaller surrounding islands. There are about 4.5 million people living in New Zealand, all of whom speak either English, Maori or, this is pretty cool, New Zealand sign language.

The capital of New Zealand is Wellington, which is at the southern end of North Island. You may have also heard of Auckland, which is also on the North Island but on the northern tip.
South Island's largest city is Christchurch...I think they are religious there, but that's just a guess...It's ironic because the national anthem is either: God Defend New Zealand or God Save the Queen.

If you're in Wellington (I always think of those cute rain boots), there are so many different things you can do:  

1. Visit the cute animals at Wellington Zoo.

2. Take a day trip to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa.

3. Experience a ride in the famous Wellington Cable Car.

4. Wait all day then go see the stars at the Carter Observatory.

5. Go to the Beehive.

6. Visit the Zealandia.

7. Read a book at the numerous Wellington libraries.

8. Smell the flowers at Wellington Botanical Garden.

9. Treat your eyes to art at the Adam Art Gallery or City Gallery Wellington.

10. Breathe in nature at the Rimutaka Range.

11. Go religious at the St. Mary of Angels, Wellington.

12. Sick of the North Island? Go to another island: Matiu/Somes Island.

13. Wellywood--> Go explore the Weta Cave in Miramar.

14. Take a stroll down Cuba Street for a Bohemian feel, shopping and fantastic coffee.

15. Go out for a night on the town and experience various bars and cafes that NZ has to offer...for all you New Yorkers out there, apparently Wellington beats you guys in terms of numbers!

For everything Wellington, you can check out their website.

For those travelling to the northern part of the North Island, to Auckland, here's a list of things to do: 

1. Give oogly eyes to the cute animals in the Auckland Zoo.

2. See amazing views of the city in the Sky Tower.

3. Take a walk in Eden Park.

4. Take a blast to the past in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

5. Visit Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium

6. As Nicki Minaj would say, in the island(s) of...Waiheke...(or Brown's Island or Ponui Island or Motuihe Island or Rakino Island or Puketutu Island or Pakatoa Island or Motutapu Island or Rotoroa Island or Rangitoto Island...phew, that was a lot of 'ors')- there are about 50 smaller islands surrounding Auckland.

7. Look for a pot of gold at Rainbow's End.

8. Attempt to climb Mount Wellington (it's in Auckland).

9. See the northern part of the island's night sky at the Stardome Observatory.

10. Drive across the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

11. Spend a day inside at the Auckland Art Gallery; Auckland Civic Theatre; Museum of Transport and Technology; National Maritime Museum (of New Zealand); Auckland Town Hall; Gus Fisher Gallery or Fo Guang Shan Temple (of Auckland) .

12. Explore nature in the various nature areas/parks: Duder Regional Park; Panmure Basin; Mangere Mountain; Myers Park; Albert Park Auckland; Omana Regional Park; Karekare; Waitemata Harbour or Lake Pupuke.

13. Smell the flowers at Auckland Botanic Gardens.

14. Get holy at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland; City Impact Church New Zealand; Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland.

15. Smell the nature and get a refreshing spray at Kitekite Falls.

16. Visit Aotea Square for the afternoon.

17. Build up your adrenaline at Ellerslie Racecourse.

18. For all those One Tree Hill fans, there's a One Tree Hill (of New Zealand) in Auckland. Now, I don't think Chad Michael Murry will be there, but hey, you never know!

19. Avoid lava while climbing one of Auckland's volcanoes. Some of these volcanoes include: Rangitoto - Te Rangi-i-totongia-a-Tama-te-kapua; Mt. Eden-Maungawhau; One Tree Hill; North Head and Mangere Mountain. 

For everything Auckland, New Zealand you can check out their website. 

For the foodies out there going to Auckland: The Grill Auckland won 'Restaurant of the Year' in 2012, with Roxy and Depot as a runner-up. Several other amazing restaurants include: The Grove, The French Cafe, Ponsonby Road Bistro, Cocoro and Antoine's. 

For the foodies out there going to Wellington, it's recommended to try: Taste Restaurant, Kazu Japanese Restaurant, NAM Restaurant, 3C Bar & Restaurant, Fratelli, Chow Tory and The White House Restaurant.  

For you partiers out there (I love a good party in a new place): Hope Bros, Mighty Mighty, Motel, Sandwiches, San Francisco Bath House, Good Luck and Havana Bar, all in Wellington. In Auckland, Club Deluxe, Ibiza, Fu Bar, Twentyone, Met & Code, Asta and Club 324. 

Going to the South Island? In Christchurch, one can: 

1. Visit the famous Christchurch Cathedral.

2. Spend a few hours in the Canterbury Museum or the Air Force Museum of New Zealand.

3. Go to the wild side at the Orana Wildlife Park or at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve.

4. Smell some more flowers at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

5. Get even more holy at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament or the Church of St. Michael and All Angels.

6. Tell time at the Victoria Clock Tower.

7. Let the wind blow in your hair...or in your face...at Port Hills.

8. Gamble all your money at the Christchurch Casino.

9. Gander at the sights in Cathedral Square.

10. Get artsy-fartsy at Christchurch Arts Centre.

11. Take a stroll in Ferrymead Heritage Park or at Mount Cavendish.

Christchurch's South of Moorhouse Ave, or SoMo, is where food, shopping and coffee all come together for the tourists and the locals. For the food and coffee lovers visiting Christchurch, try a cup of joe at either Addington Coffee Co-op, Black Betty or Beat Street Cafe. When hunger sets in, you can try either Simo's Deli, Honeypot Cafe, Chirstchurch Farmer's Market, The Bodhi Tree, Chingwag Eathai, The Lotus Heart or Burgers and Beer (I think they serve burgers and beer?)

I must say, that was one of my favorite posts thus far. I think I need to make a trip to New Zealand soon... looking at tickets now :)

Tomorrow's post won't be a country profile but on ways to travel for cheap, or dare I say, FREE. All of us wanderlusters want to know how it's possible to that and the good news is that it actually IS possible! The day after, the post will be on: Bhutan.

P.S. I am composing a post to have live next week on some major decisions I've been making lately, all travel of course. So, keep an eye out for that!

P.S.S. Did you know today is Deep Dish Pizza Day? The things I would do for a delicious deep dish pizza right now...yum! I only know this because my dad is the creator of a website called 'Desktoppers' where you can save backgrounds on the site and make them your desktop background. Pretty cool and you learn about all the different days of the month. For example, this month there is: Poem in Your Pocket Day, Scrabble Day, National Pet Day, Save The Frogs Day, Talk Like Shakespeare Day, National Honesty Day and so on.

2013 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS

According to the Travel section of the NY Times, there are 46 places wanderlusters HAVE to go in 2013. It's cool because I have been to some of these places or will be going there sometime this year. Some places I plan to go when I move to South America in a year.

Get your suitcases packed and plane tickets printed: 
1. Rio de Janiero, Brazil (next year)
2. Marseille 
3. Nicaragua (next year)
4. Accra, Ghana 
5. Bhutan
6. Amsterdam, Netherlands (in two months!)
7. Houston, Texas (this summer!)
8. Rossland, British Columbia
9. New Delhi, India (maybe this winter)
10. Istanbul, Turkey (maybe this fall)
11. Singapore
12. Montenegro
13. White Salmon River, Washington (been there!)
14. Hvar, Croatia (been there!)
15. Mongolia
16. The Big Island, Hawaii (maybe next spring)
17. Philippines (very soon, I have family there)
18. Vernazza, Italy
19. The Kimberley, Australia (when I move there in 2015)
20. Ningxia, China
21. The Adirondacks, New York
22. Oslo, Norway (very soon)
23. Constantia, South Africa (I want to!)
24. Lithuania
25. Burgos, Spain
26. Lens, France
27. Changbaishan, China
28. Porto, Portugal (maybe in the summer)
29. Puerto Rico
30. Koh Phangan, Thailand
31. Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka
32. Jackson Hole, Wyoming (maybe in the summer)
33. Bangkok, Thailand (sometime this year!)
34. The Jeseniky, Czech Republic (been there!)
35. Waiheke, New Zealand
36. Yucatan, Mexico (been there!)
37. Charlevoix, Quebec
38. Pecs, Hungary
39. Republic of Congo (the post for later today!)
40. Ireland (been there! maybe going back this year)
41. Getaria, Spain
42. Mergui Islands, Myanmar
43. The Falkland Islands
44. Washington D.C. (been there...way too many times ;) )
45. Casablanca, Morocco (hopefully for my birthday week this year!)
46. Paris, France (been there! going back in June)

Where are you going this year? Where do you want to go this year? I'm just itching to book plane tickets...

Travel on wanderlusters and keep an eye out for the Congo post later today!